High Street
The latest news, updates and analysis on the the British High Street and UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Nov- 2022 -14 November
Retailers call on chancellor to freeze business rates
Retail bosses from some of the UK’s leading retailers – including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Greggs and Iceland – have called on chancellor Jeremy Hunt to freeze business rates in the autumn statement, which is due to be announced on Thursday 17 November. Forming the Retail Jobs Alliance, the chief executives have…
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10 November
B&M maintains FY23 outlook despite £40m profit drop
B&M has maintained its previous guidance for the full year (FY23) with group adjusted Ebitda expected to be in the range of £550m-£600m, as the company expects to retain customers due to the economic crunch. This comes despite a 16.7% drop in pre-tax profits year-on-year for the 26 weeks to…
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10 November
WH Smith profits soar amid global travel return
WH Smith has reported a headline pre-tax profit of £61m for the year to the end of August, against a £104m loss last year, beating market expectations. It also posted a “significant recovery” in group performance with revenue of £1.4bn, up from £886m in 2021. The company said it would…
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10 November
Next Boss urges gov to allow more overseas workers
Next CEO Simon Wolfson has urged the government to allow more overseas workers into the UK on account of the country’s current “chronic” labour shortages, according to the BBC. As a pro-Brexit Conservative peer, Wolfson’s calls on the government to alleviate staff shortages through immigration come as the UK’s current…
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9 November
DFS appoints former Asda boss as CFO
DFS Furniture has announced that John Fallon is to be appointed as an executive director and chief financial officer (CFO) of the group from 14 November 2022. Fallon joins DFS Group from Asda, where he most recently served as group CFO and played a key role in the recent change…
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7 November
Footfall declines 7.5% in week after half-term
Footfall across UK retail destinations declined by -7.5% last week, following a rise of +8.2% in the week before last during the school half term holiday week, according to Springboard. The gap from the 2019 footfall level widened to -9.8% last week from -9% in the week before last indicating…
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7 November
Made.com expected to fall into administration this week
Made.com is reportedly expected to enter administration early this week (7 November) after failing to find a buyer. According to reports it is thought that fashion retailer Next is the current frontrunner to acquire the Made brand name, with PwC set to oversee the sale of its intellectual property. The…
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7 November
Mamas & Papas revenues jump 17% in H1
Mamas and Papas has reported that its revenues grew 17% in the six months to September, with the group’s continued expansion of its UK retail space driving “strong” sales growth despite a challenging environment for consumers. The group posted sales of £126m in its last full financial year ended 27…
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4 November
Under Armour lowers sales outlook amid ‘challenging environment’
Under Armour has lowered its sales outlook despite seeing its revenues increase 2% to $1.6bn (£1.4bn) in the second quarter of 2022 ending September 30. Wholesale revenue increased 4% to $948m (£844m) and direct-to-consumer revenue decreased 4% to $577m (£514m) dollars due to a 9% decline in owned and operated…
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3 November
Retailers pessimistic heading into peak season, research finds
Over half of UK retailers are concerned about their businesses’ financial performance over the upcoming peak season against a backdrop of inflationary pressures and the rising cost of living, according to new research from Flintfox. It revealed that although three in five (62%) say they will be running Black Friday…
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